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SSD RAID (solid-state drive RAID)

By Carol Sliwa

SSD RAID (solid-state drive RAID) is a methodology commonly used to protect data by distributing
redundant data blocks across multiple SSDs.

The phrase redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID) -- later changed to redundant array of independent
disks -- emerged in the late 1980s, when mechanical hard disk drives (HDDs) were the primary storage
media. The primary purposes for RAID were to improve performance and provide fault tolerance.

Technology vendors have since extended the concept of RAID to servers and storage systems that use higher
performance NAND flash-based SSDs. SSD RAID is primarily used to protect against data loss in the event
of a drive failure.

Storage systems in general have moved on from applying RAID at the whole-drive level, and redundancy is
now applied to data at a finer granularity. As with conventional HDD-based RAID, data can be divided at the
block level and distributed across multiple SSDs in a variety of ways.

There are three key concepts in RAID: mirroring, in which data is written simultaneously to two separate
drives; striping, in which data is split evenly across two or more drives; and parity, in which raw binary data
is passed through an operation to calculate a binary result, or parity block, used for redundancy and error
correction.

Standard RAID levels in use with HDD- and SSD-based systems include RAID 0 (simple striping); RAID 1
(simple or multimirroring); RAID 3 (byte-level striping, plus one drive dedicated to storing parity
information); RAID 4 (block-level striping with a parity drive); RAID 5 (block-level striping with distributed
parity, which requires at least three drives); and RAID 6 (block-level striping with a double distributed parity
scheme).

Striping, with no redundancy or parity, is often used to increase performance. Striping with parity or double
parity strengthens data protection. With most RAID types, storing redundant data blocks enables the system
to reconstruct the lost information if one or more drives fail.

HDD-based RAID vs. SSD-based RAID

One of the primary purposes of HDD-based RAID was originally to increase performance. An operating
system (OS) would see the HDDs as one logical storage unit, but because read and write operations are
spread across multiple storage drives, inputs/outputs (I/Os) could be aggregated and carried out
simultaneously, thereby speeding up performance and increasing throughput.

Storage systems generally do not use RAID to pool SSDs for performance purposes. Flash-based SSDs
inherently offer higher performance than HDDs, and enable faster rebuilds in parity-based RAID. Rather
than improve performance, vendors typically use SSD-based RAID to protect data if a drive fails.
This Dell EMC video describes

how XtremIO Data Protection, its

proprietary version of SSD RAID,

works.

Some flash array vendors have developed SSD RAID strategies they claim go beyond standard RAID and
offer advantages, such as minimizing the performance impact of some types of RAID. Other reasons flash
storage vendors consider changes or alternatives to standard RAID include the differences in the way HDDs
and SSDs fail.

When an HDD fails, the entire drive is lost. With an SSD, only a part or parts of the drive may fail. As a
result, some vendors have weighed customized approaches to RAID for protection against a drive failure.

Examples of non-standard RAID in current use with all-flash arrays include Dell EMC's XtremIO Data
Protection (XDP) and Pure Storage's RAID-3D.

One distinction between XDP and standard RAID algorithms is a reduction in the I/O operations required per
stripe update, according to Dell EMC. Dell EMC claimed that prior RAID algorithms had to consider how to
keep data contiguous to avoid disk drive head seeks, whereas XDP presumes random-access media, such as
flash, and is able to lay out and read back data with greater efficiency.

This Pure Storage video

demonstrates the vendor's RAID-

3D technology.

RAID-3D treats a performance delay as a drive failure and uses parity to address bottlenecks and facilitate
consistent latency, according to Pure Storage. Pure Storage claimed that RAID-3D also uses independent
checksums and dedicated parity to detect and address bit error.

NetApp's SolidFire all-flash array uses a distributed replicated algorithm, known as Helix, as an alternative
to traditional RAID. Helix spreads redundant copies of data across the drives in a storage cluster, rather than
a limited RAID set, according to the vendor.

SSD RAID array vs. HDD RAID array

The term SSD RAID is sometimes used as an alternative name for a storage array that is equipped with flash-
based SSDs and uses a form of RAID.
Advantages of SSD-based storage arrays over HDD-based storage arrays include reduced access time and
superior I/O performance. However, ideal SSD RAID performance requires the optimum combination of
microprocessor, cache, software and hardware resources. When all these factors work together in the best
possible way, an SSD RAID can significantly outperform a RAID of comparable HDD-based storage
capacity.

A typical SSD consumes less power than an HDD. When large numbers of drives are combined, the power
savings of an SSD RAID array compared with an HDD RAID array can translate to lower long-term
operating costs. In large data centers, the improved efficiency of SSDs compared with mechanical HDDs can
also reduce the cooling cost, both in terms of simpler cooling systems and lower electric bills.

Cons of SSD RAID

SSD RAID has limitations and drawbacks, largely related to the storage media. SSDs carry a higher price per
gigabyte compared to HDDs of comparable storage capacity. NAND flash-based drives are limited to a
certain number of program/erase cycles before they wear out, become unreliable and require replacement.

Although the best SSDs have life expectancies comparable to mechanical HDDs, the replacement cost for an
SSD exceeds the replacement cost for an HDD of comparable storage capacity.

11 Apr 2017

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